Santa's assistant
by MyMerryMen
Summary: The weeks before Christmas. On a stakeout Lester annoys the crap out of Stephanie. She warns him to let it go, but of course our green-eyed hero doesn't listen so it's time for payback. Unfortunately Steph doesn't think about the implications of her doing and now Les and she have to deal with the consequences in form of an angry Ranger and an impending police investigation.


_**Another one-shot for you. The challenge on Facebook was the minion quote you can find as thumbnail for this story. This isn't about romance or anything but about friendship and the spirit of Christmas. Nobody's hurt. Ranger's reaction is one of a CEO worried about his company and longstanding efforts to make it successful. The happenings with the police are solely made up in my mind and don't match reality.**_

 _ **Special thanks to Whitmom for proofreading this story for me.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I just play with them.**_

* * *

 **~ Santa's assistant ~**

 **by MyMerryMen**

It was six p.m. and a cold, wintry darkness had settled over Trenton; as Lester, Stephanie, Bobby and Hal found themselves freezing in their SUVs on a stakeout in the business section of town.

"Lester Santos, I told you yesterday and the day before, I say it for a last time now... _Don't annoy me this week, because if you do I will give your number to all the kids and tell them it's Santa's hotline_ ," Stephanie said, her head turned to the man in the driver's seat, her eyes narrowed.

"Listen to her, horndog," Bobby's voice sounded in their earpieces. He and Hal were sitting in a SUV about fifty yards to their right at the other end of the parking lot where they were on the look-out for their skip du jour. "If you piss Steph off, the bossman will know and I'm not keen on being called to the mats just because you can't keep your flap shut."

"Shut up, Brown," Lester growled and then turned his attention back to the woman next to him. "Beautiful," he looked at her with his best puppy dog eyes. "You and I at this party will be the hit. I will even go shopping with you at my expense."

"Les! I won't accompany you to the Christmas party of your favorite sex club! Period!"

"But why not, Beautiful? It's just a bar like every other one you know. Nothing will happen that you don't want to happen. And you would look fantabulous at my side. I could show you around, introduce you to some interesting characters."

Next to him Steph snorted. "Yeah, right. I'd be your toy for the night in a surrounding that makes me uncomfortable. What joy. Now shut up and focus on our target."

If there was a word that didn't exist in Lester Santos' vocabulary, it was to give up. Turning around in his seat, he took Steph's hands in his and pressed several soft kisses on them. "Please, Beautiful. Pretty please with a cherry on top."

"Santos! I warn you!"

"Beautiful, I love you, you know that." Then he got real close so that their noses touched and their lips nearly brushed. "I can make it worthwhile for you."

"Enough you pervert!" Steph shoved him back over into the driver's seat and growled under her breath. "You seem to have a serious issue with your brain. How can you think for even a moment that I would agree to this?"

~~~ooOoo~~~

The next day early in the afternoon Lester sat in his office, working through a thick stack of files when his phone rang.

"Talk."

Silence.

Lester looked at the display of his cell but the call was still connected showing a Trenton telephone number as source.

"Hello?" He said again.

"Hi, my name is Maddie," the shaky voice of a very young and very nervous girl answered. "Are you really Santa Claus?" She asked with awe.

Lester furrowed his brow. That better not be a bad joke, he so wasn't in the mood for it. Deciding the voice sounded real, he focused back on the phone in his hand.

"No, Maddie, I'm not Santa Claus. My name is Lester."

"Are you his helper?"

"No, I'm not Santa's helper. I'm sorry, Maddie, but someone must have played a prank on you. I have nothing to do with Santa Claus. Where did you get my number?"

"There was an elf at school who gave me this paper and said that I should call you and you'd be Santa and would get me my wishes."

Slowly it started to click in Lester's head and the puzzle pieces fell into place. "Maddie, was that elf beautiful with brown curly hair and the most amazing blue eyes?"

"Yes, on the paper is written: If you want to call Santa Claus to give him your wishes dial 609-555-1221. He will love to talk to you."

In his office Lester thudded his head onto the tabletop of his desk and grimaced.

"Will you tell Santa that I will call again later, Lester?"

Pressing his lips together and scrunching his eyes closed, Les couldn't believe this was happening. Perhaps this Maddie would be the only one who'd call. Nah, not with his Beautiful behind this. She surely had taken care that there'd be enough callers to mess up his afternoon.

"Hello?" came the young girl's soft voice through the line.

"Sorry Maddie, I'm still here and I will tell Santa that you called, okay?"

"Okay Lester, but don't forget," the small voice admonished him seriously causing Les to smile.

The moment the call disconnected, Lester pressed Steph's speed dial and listened to the greeting of her voice mail.

"Hey, this is Steph. You know the rule; first beep, then blah."

"Beautiful, this is Lester. I just got a call from a little girl wanting to talk to Santa. Tell me you didn't really do it. This is a business phone. Ranger will shit bricks."

The moment he hung up, his cell rang anew.

"Hi, are you Santa?" This time the voice belonged to a young boy and was much more confident.

Letting go of a deep breath, Lester hung his head and cursed inwardly.

"No, I'm not Santa and I'm also not his helper. What's your name?"

"Michael. This paper says that you are Santa and that I can tell you my wishes. I just have one wish."

"Listen Michael, I'm sorry to disappoint you but someone played a practical joke on you or better said on me. This is not Santa's hotline."

"But it's just one wish and it doesn't even cost anything," the young boy said, his voice suddenly thick with tears.

Something about the despair in the words made Les sit up and take notice. He might see himself as no family material, but that didn't mean he didn't like kids and such sadness had no place in a child's voice.

"What's your wish, Michael?"

"You are not Santa, but you know him?"

"You could say so. My name is Lester."

"Can you tell Santa that all I want for Christmas is that he makes my mommy well again? She's in hospital and has cancer and the doctors say that she will die and then I have no one to take care of me. I want my mommy home with me, please."

At the end, Les could hear Michael's voice constrict and him starting to cry. Swallowing against the lump in his throat, Lester's heart reached out for the poor boy. He might be tough on the outside, but that was just a façade to protect his caring heart.

"I'm sorry to hear your mom is so ill, Michael," Les spoke quietly into his cell, his voice filled with compassion. "You know sometimes those people we love the most get ill and there's nothing the doctors or even Santa can do about it. The best we can do is to be there for them, be the best person we can be and love them with all our heart. I'm sure you love your mom with all your heart, right?"

"Yes," Michael whispered at the other end of the line, sniffing from time to time. "I love her very much and I got better at school so she doesn't need to be angry with me and I wash my hands before I eat."

"That's great, little man. I'm sure your mom is very happy about that and not at all angry with you. I bet she loves you more than anything else in her life."

A movement at the door made Lester look up. Ranger and Tank had both entered his office and were now standing in the middle of the room with a single raised eyebrow, wondering what was going on. Raising a finger at them, letting them know that he'd be with them in a moment, Les focused back on his talk with Michael.

"But I want her home. Please, I will do everything that Santa says, if he will bring her home. I can run errands and I can do laundry. Just tell him to bring my mommy back home," the young boy's voice sounded stronger again. "I don't want to live with these strangers anymore."

"Michael, I know it sucks, but you have no choice. Your mom is in hospital and can't take care of you and of course I will tell Santa about your wish, but I fear there isn't much he can do about it. Some things are outside of our power and we have to accept that they are what they are – a heavy burden on our shoulders that we have to carry around with us. If I were you I would visit your mom as often as possible. Bring her joy, make her smile, that's the best thing you can do. And when the day comes that she can't keep fighting any longer and she dies, then remember that it is not your fault, that she loved you more than anything in the world. You won't be alone. There will be people taking care of you and," Lester bit into his lower lip, "you can call me."

"Really?"

"Yes, really Michael. You have my number. Call me when you need me."

"Thank you. You say you aren't Santa's helper, but I think you are. Bye Lester."

After he had hung up, Rangeman's jokester and playboy leaned back in his leather chair and closed his eyes.

"Care to explain what that was about?" Ranger demanded.

Before Les could reply, his cell rang again…

~~~ooOoo~~~

The next morning had the Rangeman staff sitting in the big conference room for the morning meeting. The air was filled with the chatter of the men and no one besides Steph seemed to realize that one important person was missing. When Lester's chair was still empty when Ranger came in and called the men to attention, she got worried that something had happened to him, especially in face of Ranger's grim expression and the annoyed vibes he was exuding. The boss was pissed and in the course of the meeting several men got a taste of it, either being called to the mats or put on monitor duty. No one dared to say anything. So when the meeting was finished, Steph scraped up all her courage and went after Ranger who had vanished in his office.

"Enter," he barked, his voice vibrating with anger.

The closed door should have given her the hint that he wanted to be left alone, but either way she wouldn't have cared. She was a woman on a mission.

"Ranger?" Steph stepped cautiously into the office and closed the door behind her. "I know you are having a bad day, but can you tell me whether there is something wrong with Lester? I'm worried because he wasn't at the meeting and that is not like him."

"Santos is off work for undetermined time," Ranger growled without ever looking up from his papers.

"But why? Is he okay?"

"Listen Stephanie."

Uh-oh, full name.

"I don't care whether Santos is fine or not. Once more he has messed things up and now he has to live with the consequences. If you want to know more go to him and ask him personally, but do it in your free-time. You are here to work."

Steph swallowed and nodded. Whatever had happened was bad. It couldn't have anything to do with her…? No, that wasn't possible. Silently retreating, Steph went to her cubicle and started on her searches. If she hadn't seen Les until her lunch-break she would go down to his apartment and check on him.

Time passed by quickly and before she knew it, it was time for her lunch-break. Since she hadn't seen Lester upstairs, Steph decided to go down to four and try her luck there.

"Lester?" She called out, knocking on his door. "It's me, Stephanie. Please open the door."

After a moment she could hear movement and cursing behind the door and then it opened to show a bruised, disheveled looking Lester.

"Les?" Steph covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"Hey Beautiful," he managed a small lopsided grin and pulled her into a cautious one-armed hug. "Come in. You are exactly what I need."

"Les, what happened?" Steph asked again once she was sitting on the couch, watching the man in question limping into the open kitchen and getting two bottles of water for them.

"You happened, Beautiful." There was that lopsided smile again, this time a little bigger. "Remind me to never piss you off again."

For a moment Steph stared at him speechless. "What do you mean? Are you telling me that my little scheme is working?"

That caused Lester to chuckle and at the same time groan as he held his ribs. "Your 'little scheme'," he pronounced the last two words, "is driving me insane. What did you do? Spread my phone number in every school in Trenton? My phone has barely stopped ringing since yesterday afternoon. The last call came at two o'clock in the morning and the first three hours later at five o'clock. I thought I would have some peace during class time, but every kid today has a cell phone and since I can't deliver them Santa, many call again and again because they insist to just talk to him."

Steph sat on the couch and tried vainly to hold back the laughter. Eventually, when her head turned beet red and breathing became hard, Lester waved nonchalantly.

"It's okay. Don't hold back. You warned me, now I have to live with the consequences."

The next second, Steph lay spread out on the couch and laughed hysterically.

"Oh Les, I'm so sorry," she coughed between gasps, "but this is incredulous. I never thought it would work."

Smiling, Lester sat down next to her head and rubbed her back. "Keep it up, Beautiful. Hearing you laughing like this is worth it."

After a while, Stephanie calmed down and wiped the tears from her face. Sitting up, she crawled onto Les' lap and hugged him tight. "You are a good sport, Lester."

"Just because it's you, Beautiful."

"What about the limp and the bruises?" She gently stroked his colorful cheek.

"The boss demanded an explanation yesterday when it wasn't possible to have a decent conversation with me without being interrupted by the phone. I told him someone played a joke on me and that I deserved it. Don't worry, I didn't blab on you. Anyway, he thought a lesson on the mats was in order and because of the little sleep and since the phone was already ringing nonstop when I was in the gym I was too distracted to defend myself properly. Guess I'm getting old."

Shaking her head, Stephanie sighed. "I'm sorry, Les. I didn't want that happening."

"It's all good. How about you go to that Christmas party with me now as kind of redemption?" Les waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Lester Santos. You will never learn your lesson, right?"

"As long as I breathe there's hope," he grinned back at her.

~~~ooOoo~~~

The next day Lester was again missing at the morning meeting and Ranger seemed to be even more pissed than the day before. Turned out that one of the kids she had given the paper with Les' cell phone number on it had posted it on Facebook and it spread like wildfire with more than 20,000 likes within a few hours. Steph felt miserable. That surely wasn't what she had aimed for.

Later in the morning, she saw Lester on the fifth floor, constantly holding his cell to his ear, and she bit her lip wondering how she could turn back time and undo her prank.

"Les?" She eventually cautiously put her head through the crack of the door when it was time for lunch.

He was on the phone but motioned for her to come in.

"No, Tiffany, I'm sure Mr. Jingles won't mind if you wish for another doll, but do you really need another one if you already have so many?... I understand... No, you are right, if Brittaney and Thelma are always arguing you need someone to bring about peace between them… Okay Tiffany. Thank you for the nice talk with you… Bye."

"Tiffany? Mr. Jingles?" Steph asked with raised eyebrows all the while smiling at her friend who had leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Tiffany is eight and has ten dolls that she regularly has tea with," Les answered without opening his eyes. "I don't remember all their names, but Brittaney and Thelma always argue with each other and can't sit next to each other so Tiffany wonders whether a new doll might help for the peace between them. Mr. Jingles is her cat and she worries that he might not like a new doll, because he sleeps in her bed and it's already quite crammed in there. Did you know that there are dolls that can talk or even pee?"

Steph smiled and put her hand to her heart from where suddenly warmth spread throughout her body. "You are a good man, Lester Santos. A really good man."

Popping one eye open, Lester watched her over his desk. "You make me this man, Beautiful. Ever since you stepped into my life you made me want to be a better man," he closed his eyes again. "I have to say that I'm shocked at some of the stories these kids tell me. Tiffany is doing well with both parents doting on her and all her wishes coming true. So many of them have just one parent, there's not enough food on the table, they are told there won't be any gifts for Christmas or their Birthday. It's so sad. And then there are the really horrible fates where I guess there is abuse within the family or kids who have lost their parents and are now with foster families where they don't feel at home. They are all so hurt and lonely. I have to admit that I started to tell those who are hopeless to call me again whenever they want."

"Les, that is wonderful, but how do you want to do that? I imagine you told that to a handful of kids if not more. As much as your intentions are admirable, at one point you will have to start working again and you won't have time for these kids anymore."

"I will have time. I will make it."

Steph looked at him speechless, wondering why she hadn't ever seen this side of her best friend. "Les, why do you hide this side of you? All you ever show to the outside world is the player and jokester. There's so much more to you, things that make you special and wonderful and very loveable."

Lester hesitated for a moment before sighing and looking straight into Steph's eyes.

"If I show the true person I am on the inside, I make myself vulnerable. Keeping up the charade of the ever shallow playboy protects my heart, Beautiful."

Sighing, Steph regarded her friend for a moment. It was so unfair that he felt he had to hide his true personality. Some noise in the hall outside Les' office caught her attention and the next moment there was a knock and two unknown detectives pushed past Binkie into the room.

"Lester Mateo Santos, we are here to arrest you for suspicion of child enticement. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?"

The detective who had spoken waited for Lester to answer while the second one stepped up to him and handcuffed his hands behind his back.

"Wait! What is going on here?" Steph had jumped up and was now standing protectively in front of Les.

"Ma'am, you have to get out of the way," the detective who had Lester in cuffs ordered.

"No! I will not! First you tell me what is going on here! Lester is my friend and he is no pedophile. What gave you that idea?"

"Ma'am, several worried parents called the TPD and reported that their kids were given papers with the accused's phone number on it saying it was Santa's phone number and enticing them to call him. This behavior violates the established law of the state New Jersey and we have to bring him in for questioning." The detective holding Lester pushed him past Steph and out of the room.

"What's going on here?" Ranger's voice barely contained his anger and made every man including the detectives take notice.

"They are arresting Lester for something I did," Steph exclaimed, no longer interested in keeping herself safe from Ranger's wrath. "I did it. I spread the papers with his phone number so the kids would call him. It was payback. I didn't mean to worry anyone; I just wanted to annoy him the way he had annoyed me."

"You want to tell me that this was a prank, ma'am?" The first detective asked incredulously.

"Yes, that's exactly what I want to say so get the cuffs off my friend. He hasn't done anything wrong besides grating on my nerves."

"Sorry, ma'am, but that isn't as easy as you think. You will have to accompany us to the police station and there we'll have to interrogate you both. Then, depending on what you tell us, we will decide how to move forward."

A hand closing around her upper arm made Steph look up into Ranger's angry obsidian black eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Ranger. I don't know what to say." She waited for his 'Babe', but it never came.

"I will send my lawyers down to the station," was the only thing he said before he turned and vanished into his office.

Finding Lester's eyes, Stephanie could have cried, but sucked it up; time to pull on the big girl panties and accept responsibility.

~~~ooOoo~~~

Altogether their stay at the police station took four hours. Four hours in which they had to tell their story again and again. After about two hours Joe Morelli checked on her. At first she thought it was a nice thing to do, but when she didn't want to tell him what was going on, he went outside and got the summary from his colleagues. She hated him when she heard him bark with laughter in the hall outside the interrogation room she was in. Wasn't there something like questionee confidentiality?

The atmosphere greeting them when Les and Steph eventually came back to Rangeman was icy at best. The whole building seemed to have hunkered down waiting for what might happen next. Deciding to face their fate first before going down to four and relax, they went up to the fifth floor just to be intercepted by a tense Junior.

"Hey man, boss wants to see you immediately upon your return. He's really pissed."

Lester and Steph both nodded and turned towards Ranger's office down the floor.

"Steph?" Junior called quietly after her. When she turned he was smiling from ear to ear and had both thumbs up in the air. "Way to go."

The smiling faces suddenly turning up everywhere on the formerly deserted floor made Steph chuckle in response and hug Les next to her. She had really messed up and she knew it so seeing the silent support of her friends and colleagues made her straighten her back and go ahead, pulling Lester with her. After all, what could happen to them? They surely wouldn't lose their jobs over this.

Finally standing in front of Ranger's door, Steph turned to Lester, little tendrils of fear starting to claw at her.

"We can do this, right?"

"Of course Beautiful. I'm pretty sure he won't kill us. What's it to him anyway?" He pulled her into his arms and for a moment held her tight before letting go, stepping in front of her and knocking at the door.

"Enter." Came the terse reply from inside the office.

Stepping into the room, Lester and Steph had to realize that Ranger was not alone but that Tank and Bobby were both sitting on the couch, their blank faces firmly in place.

"Hey cousin, Bobby, Tank, you will be happy to hear that no charges are going to be pressed against me," Les said cheerfully.

"Take a seat," Ranger answered with a growl in his voice.

When Steph and Les both sat on the guest chairs, he regarded them with a cold glare finally stopping at Stephanie.

"What in hell drove you to spread those papers to the kids," he said quietly, almost whispering, before his hand lashed down on the top of his desk making Steph flinch in her seat.

She silently sat there, looking at him in shock.

"I asked you a question, Stephanie, and I demand an answer," Ranger growled, his eyes never leaving her.

"It was meant as payback but it backfired. I didn't mean for all these things to happen."

"Define 'all these things'."

Steph uncomfortably squirmed in her chair. "Well, for one that it would take Les away from work. I know he is important for your company and because of me he wasn't available to do whatever it is that he does. For two I'm sorry that these kids bought into my scheme and now are opening their hearts to Lester believing he is Santa's assistant. All the disappointment this will lead to. And last but not least I'm sorry for what happened today. I should have thought of parents worrying about some pedophile trying to lure their kids into his arms, but I didn't. It all sounded so perfect when I thought it out and now I have to realize that I've created a mess."

"I see that you are miserable, but there is one important item missing in your list, Stephanie."

Hearing her full name once more, Steph looked up, helpless regarding the tears that swam in her eyes blurring her vision.

"You not once stopped to think about what your behavior would mean for Rangeman and to a certain extent me."

"What do you mean?"

"Christ! Stephanie! The press started calling here an hour after you two were brought over to the police department. They question what I had to do with the whole scheme? What position Rangeman takes in this case? Whether I have lost the control over my employees or not? Whether there are more foul worms working in my company? Lester's reputation is shot to pieces. He might not be responsible for everything that has happened, because that is obviously you, but there is a negative connotation to his name now thanks to you. This whole thing is a public relations nightmare and has brought Rangeman into a bad light. We will most probably lose clients because of this. You might not care about your reputation, but I care about Lester's, the company's and mine."

"I'm sorry," Steph sobbed, no longer trying to hold back the tears. "I will give an explanation to the press making sure they understand that it was completely my idea."

Ranger pinched his nose and sighed. "We will talk about that tomorrow after the morning meeting. Now go home, Steph. I don't want to see you for the rest of the day."

"But Carlos," Les stood up together with Steph, feeling the urge to defend his friend.

"You can leave with her Santos. I don't want to see you either. Think about how you want to deal with the situation. Starting tomorrow you will be back at work."

Lester looked a moment at his cousin, then sighed and guided Steph out of the room. As soon as they were outside in the hall he hugged her close and whispered consoling words into her wild curls.

"I'm so sorry, Beautiful. Believe me I'm not angry with you. I deserved what you did. It was meant as a prank. No one could know it would get out of hand like this. We will deal with this together, okay?" He leaned back and caressed her cheeks, wiping the tears away in the process. "Say that you understand and agree with me."

"You are already in so much trouble because of me, Les, you shouldn't let yourself be seen with me."

"Horse hockey, Beautiful. I will be right by your side as long as it takes. I love you, you are my best friend. We are in this together because if I hadn't annoyed you so much you would never have been forced to pay me back."

Seeing her nod meekly, Les brushed his lips along her brow, squeezed her a last time, and then took her hand and pulled her towards the elevator.

"Come on, let's get down to my apartment and chillax. We can watch some movies and have a good time together."

"But Ranger wants me to go home—"

"But you are my guest. Stop worrying about that shmuck. Stay with me, okay?"

Steph looked up into Les' emerald green eyes and couldn't say no to that look. He had pulled out the full program including his puppy dog eyes and pouting lips.

~~~ooOoo~~~

The coming weeks passed in a blur. Steph invited the local press to a news conference inside the Rangeman building and gave a statement the day after she and Lester were brought to the police station. She took the blame for everything that happened and apologized profusely for the worry she caused parents all around Trenton. To keep his face out of the newspapers, Lester didn't accompany her, but he made sure that she knew how much he adored her and that in his opinion she was in the right. Regarding the continuously increasing number of phone calls from kids all over the states it was determined that Les gets a new cell phone number, but he didn't have the heart to leave the kids hanging without explanation. It was Steph who came up with the idea to revive an old cell phone, plug it in, turn it on mute and leave a message for the children who were calling. And so it came that all those kids who called Santa's hotline suddenly heard this loving message.

"Hello my dear caller. If you try to reach Santa under this number I'm sorry to tell you that he can't take your call because this isn't his phone number. My name is Lester and as sad as it makes me, I'm not Santa Claus and I am also not his helper. Someone played a practical joke on me and I'm sorry that you got involved in this. I hope you all will have a wonderful Christmas. Remember, it doesn't matter what or how much you get, all that matters is that it comes from the heart. Take care you all and be safe."

Steph also outdid herself by finding all the children he had invited to call him again and together they visited Michael and his mother at the hospital and also checked on the other kids.

Ranger had regained his composure two days after the news conference when it became clear that the way Steph had handled things had minimized the blow Rangeman got. There were some articles questioning the company, but they were published in substandard newspapers or the internet and luckily the clients gave a damn. They didn't jump to conclusions but called and simply asked what Rangeman's involvement was and after Ranger put them at ease confirming that it had been solely private business between two of his employees and didn't mirror the company's business ethics everybody was satisfied and said goodbye.

"Ranger, can Lester and I take the rest of the day off?" Steph asked him four days before Christmas.

"Sure Babe, what are you two up to?"

"We got a call that there are a couple Angel Trees in one of the poorer neighborhoods that need someone to take care of them so Les and I want to drive over, get the tags and do the shopping."

"That's a very good cause that you are doing for those kids, Babe."

"Well, I hope it will make up for the mess I created a few weeks ago. We have to thank you for agreeing to organize a late Christmas party for all the children and their entire families. Thank you, Ranger. You are a generous man."

"Babe." Ranger stood up, came around his desk and pulled Steph into a warm embrace. "I'm not that generous. Once more your picture of me is way better than I am. Organizing and paying for this party will mend some of the damage done to Rangeman's reputation."

"I thought you said that there was no remarkable damage."

"No, it's not remarkable, but it's still there and I want to wipe the slate clean once and for all."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't Babe," Ranger put his index finger under her chin and lifted her face. "Stop worrying about past things. I don't hold a grudge against you, well," he smiled, his thumb brushing playfully against her lower lip, "at least not anymore. We are good, Babe, and I'm glad. Those were lonely days when we were at odds."

"Yes, they were."

"Now," he pushed her at arm's length and let his eyes roam over her body. "Go find my cousin and have a wonderful day with him. I'm sure he's pacing the garage by now," Ranger winked and laughed when Steph stuck out her tongue.

Yes, she and Lester had become closer, but there was no need to openly talk about it. After all they hadn't named what was developing between them so far.

"Where to Beautiful?" Lester asked as soon as they were settled in the SUV, and yeah, Ranger was right, Les had been pacing in the garage.

"First we have to get the tags and then I say we storm Quaker Bridge Mall. There are way more stores there than in the mall in Trenton."

Taking Steph's hand in his and entwining their fingers, Les sent her a panty-ruining smile, kissed their joined hands and placed them on his thigh.

"Whatever you want, Beautiful. I'm yours."

* * *

 _ **I wish everybody a wonderful holiday season. May you all have a peaceful and merry Christmas.**_


End file.
